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Ninth Edition: International Trade Theory
Ninth Edition: International Trade Theory
Globalization
Ninth Edition
Chapter 5
International Trade Theory
Riceland 1 5
Tealand 6 3
2. Demand Conditions
• Sophisticated Buyers
• Michael Porter identifies four elements that are present to varying degrees in every nation
and that form the basis of national competitiveness. The Porter diamond consists of (1)
factor conditions, (2) demand conditions, (3) related and supporting industries, and (4)
firm strategy, structure, and rivalry.
• Factor Conditions: Porter acknowledges the value of a nation’s resources, which
he terms basic factors, but he also discusses the significance of what he calls
advanced factors. Advanced factors include the skill levels of different segments of
the workforce and the quality of the technological infrastructure in a nation.
• Demand Conditions: Sophisticated buyers in the home market are also important
to national competitive advantage in a product area. A sophisticated domestic
market drives companies to add new design features to products and to develop
entirely new products and technologies.
• Related and Supporting Industries: Supporting industries spring up to provide the
inputs required by the industry.
• Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry: Essential to successful companies is the
industry structure and rivalry between a nation’s companies. The more intense the
struggle to survive between a nation’s domestic companies, the greater will be their
competitiveness. Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
• Government and Chance: Apart from the four factors identified as part of the diamond,
Porter identifies the roles of government and chance in fostering the national
competitiveness of industries. First, governments, by their actions, can often increase
the competitiveness of firms and perhaps even entire industries. Second, although
chance events can help the competitiveness of a firm or an industry, it can also threaten
it.